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A love story, a social history, and an act that echoes through generations.Set in the late 1800’s, Marthe Jocelyn’s stunning new novel is told in the voices of four people whose lives and destinies intertwine. There’s Mary, who begins “exceeding ignorant” (apart from what a girl can learn from family mayhem, a dead mother, and a grim stepmother) and winds up encountering lust and betrayal when she becomes a servant in a fine house in London. Mary’s nemesis is another maid in the household, Eliza. Eliza also knows lust and betrayal, but she doesn’t know who is betraying who.

Mary’s and Eliza’s actions will intersect with a foundling home in London, where Oliver is a teacher who tries to avoid feeling anything that will perhaps make him live a real life. And then there’s the foundling boy, James. Who will he grow up to be if he doesn’t know where he comes from?

Oh, my! This was a delicious read. And I mean it. Delicious. I don’t normally read historical or romance novels, but the cover of Folly caught my attention and I thought I’d give it a whirl. I was sucked in my Mary’s voice from the first page and I stayed entranced with her story. Love, lust, longing, deceit, envy. This book has it all.

I love stories where strangers end up being interconected, and that is definitely the case with Folly. The story is told by the four main characters (Mary, Eliza, Oliver and James) during two different time periods. At first I thought that I would find this a bit confusing, but nope, not at all. Jpocelyn writes it in such a way that it is both rich in detail and easy to follow.

This was a fun read. It had me cringing, shaking my head and my fist, laughing and crying. If you are looking for a great summer read, then Folly should definitely go on your list.